The Grand Canal and its National Cultural Park

1. Introduction

The Grand Canal is a large-scale system of waterways built to transport people over long distances. The World Heritage Site is currently made up of 31 sections, including 27 waterway sections, and 58 heritage sites. These include barns and storehouses hailing from the Sui and Tang dynasties, hydraulic systems built during the Yuan Dynasty, such as sluice gates and dams, as well as waterways with navigation functions that date back to the Spring and Autumn period. Besides being admired for their aesthetic value, some of these waterways are still used for tourism purposes. Heavy cargo is still transported down the millennia-old canal to this day.

 Looking at other canals on the World Heritage List (such as Canal du Midi and the Canals of Amsterdam), European and American canal heritage is an example of hydraulic planning and engineering dating back to the Industrial Revolution. These canals were mainly built between the 17^th and 19^th centuries, when revolutionary breakthroughs in energy and construction materials led to the construction of large locks and dams. They reflect the different techniques used in Europe and the United States to build canals. In contrast, the Grand Canal in China is a vast canal network built within the context of an agricultural system, reflecting the early achievements of hydraulic engineering before the start of the Industrial Revolution. The Grand Canal is also listed in the International Register of Canal Monuments and Sites.

2. The Grand Canal’s application for World Heritage status

The Grand Canal’s value as a cultural heritage site started to be recognised around the year 2000 when the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was initiated. This project involved many sections of the Grand Canal, and was prompted when Mr Ge Chengyong suggested that the Grand Canal was a cultural heritage site and should be protected as such.
The Three Elders of the Canal – Luo Zhewen, Zheng Xiaoxie and Zhu Bingren – sent a letter to the mayors of the cities situated along the Grand Canal calling for its protection and for an application to be submitted for World Heritage status. Shu Yi, the son of Lao She, presented a proposal for the protection of the Grand Canal to the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which had been signed by 58 CPPCC members. This generated widespread interest in the protection of the Grand Canal and played an important role in shaping public opinion.
The Grand Canal inscription process has gone through three major stages in the past 11 years, starting in 2003 when President Zhang Tinghao from the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage appointed a team of experts to carry out a preliminary study on the feasibility of the Grand Canal’s conservation. This culminated in the site being successfully inscribed in 2014.
2003 to 2006 was a preparatory stage during which studies on the conservation of canal relics were initiated. These caught the attention of the public who were made aware of the canal’s value as a heritage site.
2007 to 2009 was a comprehensive launch phase during which the concept of the Grand Canal was gradually defined through the investigation of the canal’s heritage, the preparation of municipal and provincial management plans, and the archaeological excavations required for the application.
In 2008, the first national conference was held which represented the full-scale launch of the project and raised awareness from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to the national level.
From 2010 to 2014, an overall plan and the text for the application to be submitted in 2014 were prepared in order to accelerate the campaign. The relevant provinces and municipalities moved ahead very efficiently with their projects for heritage conservation and environmental protection, meeting all the requirements of the World Heritage Committee and satisfying expert visits from international organisations. In June 2014, the Grand Canal of China was inscribed on the World Heritage List during the 38th World Heritage Conference.

In the early stages of the inscription process, the condition of the area along the Grand Canal was poor and the management system was complex. The team proposed a strategy consisting of overall protection and partial inscription. On the planning level, the entire route of the Grand Canal was designated as protected, while on the inscription level, about one third of the waterway sections were selected for inscription. Although the 2014 inscription was successful, its partial nature was a disappointing outcome for heritage conservationists, who hoped that the Grand Canal would be fully inscribed on the World Heritage List at a higher level. A similar idea was proposed by the World Heritage Committee at the time of inscription approval, who suggested the possibility of establishing a series of buffer zones along the Grand Canal, which could be subject to a lower level of control, helping the local population to recognise its value.

The post-2014 conservation work on the Grand Canal, which meets domestic conservation needs on the one hand and international expectations on the other, has mainly been carried out on the basis of supervision efforts. This includes various monitoring activities such as annual reports, half-yearly assessments, surveys, public opinion monitoring, thematic reports, research and assessment of the state of conservation and of the methods used to manage it.
In 2017, the team completed the adjustment of the buffer zone of some sections of the site and submitted two reports about the state of conservation to the World Heritage Committee. The resolution of the 42^nd session of the Committee praised the work carried out to conserve and monitor China’s Grand Canal: ‘It goes without saying that the scale, diversity and complexity of the conservation and management of the Grand Canal heritage make it extremely challenging. For this reason, the achievements of the government are particularly notable. The most prominent result is the Integrated Heritage Monitoring System, which provides a database to support decision-making on the basis of continuous data collection, centralised management, analysis and evaluation.’

In retrospect, there were four major innovations during the 11-year application process. Firstly, the planning system was updated, which made it possible to survey resources along the entire length of the Grand Canal and to create an overall conservation policy. Secondly, the coordination mechanism was improved, which helped to achieve a consensus on the protection of the cultural heritage site. The third innovation was the monitoring system, which is the only national monitoring system for World Cultural Heritage in the world. Fourthly, there was a series of innovations highlighting the integrity of China’s world cultural heritage.

3. A new stage in the canal’s protection and management – the Grand Canal National Cultural Park

Following 40 years of rapid economic and social development, especially since the explosion of mass media, we have entered a new era where the demand for culture is on the rise and cultural development has the power to boost economic and social development.

In 2019, the Outline of the Grand Canal Cultural Protection, Inheritance and Utilization Plan and the Construction Plan for the Great Wall, the Grand Canal and the Long March National Cultural Park were published. These plans highlighted the fact that recent efforts to protect the Grand Canal are not only aimed at protecting the heritage site itself. They also promote various methods for protecting and utilising heritage, such as the management of the waterway system, restoration of the environment, the integration of cultural tourism and the coordination of urban and rural areas.

Relying on important resources to establish the National Cultural Park is the only way to protect and utilise its cultural heritage. The Grand Canal is at the heart of the National Cultural Park as a symbol of China’s diversity and integration. On the one hand, it facilitated communication and economic exchange in ancient China, leaving a profound mark on various cultures, such as the Confucian, Taishan, Huaiyang, Wu and Yue cultures. On the other hand, the Grand Canal is still an advantageous resource for economic and social development, an important cultural, economic and ecological corridor in China, and a source of innovation, creativity, coordination, sustainability and development.

Core heritage in the National Cultural Park area, other tangible and intangible cultural heritage assets, and the many cultural activities on offer all represent the value of the National Cultural Park. Overall protection, heritage and utilisation are key themes associated with the Grand Canal National Cultural Park. The relationship between cultural heritage conservation and sustainable development must be managed with environmental, social and economic considerations in mind. With regards to innovation and exploration, there needs to be a shift from the coordination of various stakeholders to collaborative governance with the involvement of all stakeholders. Furthermore, different interests need to be unified.

The value of the National Cultural Park can be improved by integrating the core heritage site with other features in the park by way of combining resources. Specific strategies include intrinsic protection and archaeological research, thorough investigation of historic culture, innovation of the cultural industry, unifying community development and strengthening cooperation between cities and regions.

4. Summary

As a typical representative of China's mega-series heritage, the Grand Canal has witnessed the formation, development and decline of water transport – a special system and cultural tradition that has disappeared in China – as well as its far-reaching impact. It has important historical and cultural value and needs to be protected and passed on to generations to come. The Grand Canal National Cultural Park has been created with modern requirements in mind.

To conclude, we would like to mention the steps outlined by President Zhang Tingyong in reference to the Grand Canal as these are relevant to ongoing efforts to conserve ancient post roads in southern Guangdong. These are as follows: determine its original route, seek out its starting point, distinguish its shape, uncover its secrets, investigate what it can offer today, understand its changes, clarify its history and outline its purpose.
We hope to combine the historical context with modern requirements, as well as to protect, pass on and utilise linear heritage!